President Trump picks Judge Brett Kavanaugh as Supreme Court nominee

Brett Kavanaugh, a Catholic, who is a judge on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit, smiles July 9 at the White House in Washington after President Donald Trump named him his Supreme Court nominee. (CNS photo by Leah Millis, Reuters)

President Donald Trump announced July 9 that his nominee for the Supreme Court is Judge Brett Kavanaugh, a federal appeals court judge in Washington and a Catholic who once clerked for retiring Justice Anthony Kennedy.

“What matters is not a judge’s personal views but whether they can set aside those views to do what the law and the Constitution require,” Trump said in his announcement at the White House, adding: “I am pleased to say I have found, without doubt, such a person.”

He said the nominee has “impeccable credentials” and is “considered a judge’s judge.”

“I am grateful to you and I am humbled by your confidence in me,” said Kavanaugh, who was standing near his wife and two daughters.

Kavanaugh spoke about his Catholic faith, saying he tries to live by the motto instilled in him by his Jesuit high school, to be "men for others.”

Like Justice Neil Gorsuch, Kavanaugh attended Georgetown Preparatory School, a Jesuit boys school in North Bethesda.

The day after the announcement was made, Jesuit Father James R. Van Dyke, president of Georgetown Prep, said, “I would like to congratulate Judge Kavanaugh on his nomination to serve on the nation’s highest court. He is a proud Prep alumnus and holds the school in the highest regard. Judge Kavanaugh has Georgetown Prep’s prayers and support as he faces the confirmation process.”

Kavanaugh pointed out that “I am part of the vibrant Catholic community in the D.C. area. The members of that community disagree about many things, but we are united by a commitment to serve.”

The Supreme Court nominee noted that his former pastor, Msgr. John Enzler, was in the audience for the annnouncement. He said he used to be an altar boy for him and now the two serve the homeless together. The priest is the president and CEO of Catholic Charities of the Archdiocese of Washington.

Kavanaugh also gave a shout-out to the girls CYO basketball team at his parish which he coaches. He said the team has nicknamed him “Coach K,” the name given to Duke basketball head coach Mike Krzyzewski.

Kavanaugh said if he is chosen to be on the Supreme Court he would “keep an open mind in every case” and “always strive to preserve the Constitution of the United States and the American rule of law.”

Immediately after Justice Anthony Kennedy announced his retirement June 27, Trump said he would move quickly to nominate a replacement, saying he would review a list of candidates from the list he had to fill the seat now held by Gorsuch after the death of Justice Antonin Scalia.

Kennedy is one of five Catholic justices on the Supreme Court along with Chief Justice John Roberts and Justices Clarence Thomas, Samuel Alito and Sonia Sotomayor.

Kavanaugh, 53, is a Yale Law School graduate who currently serves on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit, where he has authored more than 280 opinions. He was part of Independent Counsel Kenneth Starr’s Whitewater investigation, which ultimately led to President Bill Clinton’s impeachment by the House and acquittal by the Senate.

His biography on the court website notes that he is a regular lector at his parish, the Shrine of the Most Blessed Sacrament in Washington.

He also volunteers for the St. Maria’s Meals program at Catholic Charities, tutors at the Washington Jesuit Academy and belongs to the John Carroll Society, a group of Catholic lawyers and professionals.

He dissented from a recent ruling by the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals that a teenager in an immigrant detention center was entitled to seek an abortion. He claimed the decision would give immigrant minors a right to “immediate abortion on demand,” but urged the government to transfer her to private custody so she could do “as she wished.”

Kavanaugh also dissented from a majority decision of the D.C. Circuit that rejected a request from the Archdiocese of Washington and Priests for Life to have the full court review their challenge to the Affordable Care Acts contraceptive mandate.

He said that “the regulations substantially burden the religious organizations’ exercise of religion because the regulations require the organizations to take an action contrary to their sincere religious beliefs.”

But he also wrote that the government “has a compelling interest in facilitating access to contraception for the employees of these religious organizations” and should “achieve it in other ways.”

Two of the other judges reported to be among the top picks as Supreme Court nominees are also Catholic: Judges Amy Coney Barrett and Thomas Hardiman. Judge Amul Thapar, on a broader top list, is also Catholic.

The nominee must be confirmed by the Senate in order to have a seat on the Supreme Court.

The Senate Judiciary Committee will hold hearings questioning the nominee and if the committee approves, a vote for or against the nominee goes to the full Senate floor and must be approved with a simple majority or 51 votes.

Reaction to Kavanaugh's nomination
was pretty much divided along party lines.

Sarah
Pitlyk, Kavanaugh's former law clerk, praised Trump's selection. She is
special counsel for the Thomas More Society, a national nonprofit law firm
dedicated to causes related to life, the family and religious liberty.

"Judge
Kavanaugh has a clear, consistent and solid record on the issues that matter
most to social conservatives. He has repeatedly taken conservative stands and
has fearlessly defended his textualist and originalist philosophy," she
said in a July 10 statement.

"He
is a good and decent man who will never waver in the face of pressure from any
quarters. He is exactly what constitutional conservatives want on the Supreme
Court," she added.

The Catholic Democrats
organization was not pleased with Trump's choice, saying that if he is
confirmed, he would make the court "significantly more conservative."

In a July 10 statement, it said said had "grave concerns" about
Kavanaugh, primarily because he was on a list of 25 judges compiled by the
Federalist Society, which the Catholic Democrats describe as a group that
"advances a conservative ideology that devalues civil rights, labor
rights, environmental protection, gun safety, and federalism while advancing
business interests."

"No
one can predict precisely how Judge Kavanaugh will vote, but the Federalist
Society's stamp of approval and his judicial record tell us that he will likely
advance a pro-business agenda at the expense of workers and the most vulnerable
in our society," said James Roosevelt Jr., a board member of Catholic
Democrats.

Initial
reactions to Kavanaugh's nomination were somewhat muted from some who felt
another top nominee, Barrett, would do more to overturn Roe v. Wade, the
Supreme Court decision legalizing abortion.

The National Right to Life Committee
tweeted a note of thanks to Trump after the nominee was announced, and the Susan
B. Anthony List, a nonprofit group that seeks to end abortion by supporting pro-life candidates, described Kavanaugh
as an "outstanding choice."